House Democrats astounded they’re expected to read/understand what’s in bills
“I love these members that get up and say, ‘Read the bill’! Well, what good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you’ve read the bill?” – Representative John Conyers, D-MI
Did a veteran member of Congress say there is no need to read a bill which is being debated and on which he will be voting? Did he say he would not be obligated to understand “what it means”? Oh yes, he really did!
Rep. Conyers made the above remarks during a speech at the National Press Club this week and seemed quite smug and self-satisfied after making them. We watched the video of this quote, and after lifting our collective jaws off the floor, an “ONYDST” researcher said, “I bet very few congressmen ever read those bills. I give Conyers some credit for stating the truth, even though it was stupid for him to say publicly.” That may be a valid point, but for the average American, the idea that a member of Congress would not read a bill before voting on it seems absolutely outrageous. However, Rep. Conyers is not the only member of the House leadership who feels that reading and understanding all of a complicated piece of legislation is necessary.
During hearings for the “cap-and-trade” bill, an exchange occurred between Representatives Joe Barton, R-TX and Henry Waxman, D-CA. Rep. Barton was raising an issue about a particular item in the bill. He asked Rep. Waxman, “Did you know that was in this bill?” Waxman hesitated and then replied, “You asking me?” Barton confirmed that he was asking the committee chairman a question. Waxman then stated, “I certainly don’t claim to know everything that’s in this bill. I know that we left it to … the scientists … That’s what I know, but I don’t know the details.” This bill was huge (at the time of this hearing, about 900 pages), so it might be understandable that a member of Congress might not fully understand all of the details prior to the completion of committee hearings – except for the fact that it was this member’s legislation (cosponsored with Ed Markey, D-MA – Waxman wrote the bill but didn’t read it?). As in the case of Rep. Conyers, it was not just the words he said, but how he said them – in a dismissive, condescending tone of voice. He was clearly annoyed that someone would expect him to actually understand the details of his legislation.
Would you think that the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives would expect all members, or at least his caucus, to read bills in their entirety prior to voting on them? Well, if you thought “yes”, you thought wrong. Earlier this month, Representative Steny Hoyer, D-MD, leader of the House Democrats, said, in relation to the health care bill, “If every member pledged to not vote for it if they hadn’t read it in its entirety, I think we would have very few votes.” In fact, Rep. Hoyer apparently found the whole idea of members completely reading the bills on which they vote to be humorous and absurd. “I’m laughing because I don’t know how long this bill is going to be, but it’s going to be a very long bill,” he said, driving home the point that if a bill is too long, why read it?
So, maybe we’re all a bunch of rubes/yokels/hayseeds and don’t understand how important and busy is the life of a member of Congress. Maybe with briefings from staff members and others who did read such bills, members will be casting educated, well-thought-out votes. However, you would think that such experienced politicians would have the decency to at least pretend that they have done their due diligience and personally read each piece of legislation.
Currently, a group named “Let Freedom Ring” has distributed a pledge to all members of the Senate and House of Representatives that reads, in part, “I will not vote to enact any healthcare reform package that … I have not read, personally, in its entirety …” The pledge currently has 101 signers – out of 535 total Senators and members of Congress. So it’s not exactly catching on fire yet. Also, apparently not everybody in the House Democrat leadership has a political tin ear, as a 5-hour work session was organized for about 180 members of the Democratic caucus, in which staffers went through the bill, section by section. An attendee noted, “No one’s going to say we haven’t read the bill.”
We do not want to debate the merits of any bills today, but just suggest that there is nothing unreasonable about constituents expecting their legislators to read completely and understand fully the bills on which they are voting. So to those Senators and members of Congress that have demonstrated by their words and deeds that they will do so, we say, “Nice work!” However, circling back to John Conyers’ dismissive remarks and contempt for those who expect him to perform his job competently, we say:
“Oh no you didn’t say that!”
20 Responses
to “House Democrats astounded they’re expected to read/understand what’s in bills”
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.
As a Jewess in the US, I ask: WHAT is Hussein Obama HIDING? Doesn’t matter! TOO LATE NOW! There are now some constitutional/legislative “theologians” who say that even IF the DemocRAT votes COULD be found to impeach him, that Obama is legally UNIMPEACHABLE, if in fact he is not a natural-born American. They say that, because then he would never have been eligible to hold the office in the first place, and so is NOT the President, and thus CANNOT be impeached! The Articles simply would NOT APPLY to him, any more than they would to you or me. Meanwhile, he occupies the White House, sitting around smoking cigars, drinking Crown Royal, and flitting about on Air Force One. If true, HOW would he be removed from the White House? Perhaps via an ordinary EVICTION process? Don’t let the media bury this story! -Wendy Weinbaum
credit you for your dope and it helped me in preparing my college assignment.
complex post. upright one detail where I bicker with it. I am emailing you in detail.
yeh right.. great post, Thank You
Very helpful dispatch but there are some burden where I last wishes as not agree. But all-inclusive its very good.
Nice but i think something is missing.
Fabulously just posting this expose to conduct that I seize your blog daily.
Very nice site!
Very nice site!
Very nice site!
I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now and I always find a gem in your new posts. Thanks for sharing.
Hello, I am reading this site using my iphone 4 but it looks kinda strange. Thought you would probablywould like to know. It’s really a really good post in any case.
Whats up, I just hopped over for your website online by way of StumbleUpon. Not one thing I would typically read, however I appreciated your feelings none the less. Thank you for making something value reading.
I went over this website and I think you have a lot of good information, bookmarked (:.
Thanks for putting together %BLOGTITLE% I am enjoying your posts. Would you think about a guest post on a site I help run? Do you think that you could contribute? You can see our post styles at http://marngrook.com.au and certainly we would be interested in having you post an article or two on our blog, what do you think? If you are interested let me know through the contacts page on our site.%BLOGTITLE% is an interesting name for a blog, keep up the good work , thanks, from Barclay Dawson
thank you for this.. by the way, your layout is great.
Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular because you definitely have the gift.
Hey there, You have done an incredible job. I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this website.
Fantastic goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you’re just too great. I actually like what you’ve acquired here, certainly like what you’re stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it smart. I can’t wait to read much more from you. This is actually a great website.
Of course, what a great site and informative posts, I will add backlink – bookmark this site? Regards, Reader.